How can we use the happiness curve?

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Most Saturday mornings I find myself in and around Henley on Thames, ferrying the family about. Sometimes a spare thirty minutes presents itself, and I'll take the chance to have a coffee before the phone squawks and the taxi service is called back into action.

This was the case last week, when – in possession of the princely (but coffee covering) sum of £15 – I got a tap on the shoulder as I walked into the shop. This kind soul pointed out that I had dropped £5, and repatriated the cash forthwith. My elation (I’m Scottish) was short-lived, however, as it dawned on me that the £10 had gone, never to be retrieved. This minor incident truly spoiled my day. The reason I’m giving you this unsolicited insight into my leisure time is that I believe my experience is analogous to that of investors at the present time. At work we call this the ‘happines...

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